King And Lionheart
by TheNewIdea
Summary: The same concept and idea as Iago, but with Banzai. This is his story, the story that you've never heard, the story of how Banzai became Banzai and how he's not as bad as he appears to be. This coincides with the backstory of Banzai in Welcome To Disney World. Rated T for adventure, mild sexual themes, and language. Reviews welcome and appreciated.
1. Unnecessarily High Expectations

**Pronunciations of Names (They're spelled exactly how they sound but just in case. I'm not questioning your intelligence, it's just so you as readers can understand the story better.)**

**Stenrig (S-tin-rig)**

**Haran (Ha-ran)**

**Salanei (Sa-lawn-e)**

**Luca (Luke-a)**

Chapter One

Unnecessarily High Expectations

This story begins just like any other, with my birth. I will spare you the details of my conception and just skip to the reactions of my mother and father. My mother looked at me and hated me almost instantly; my father had mirrored her reaction but instead added a slight growl. The only one who even showed remote interest in me was the chief, Haran. Looking over me, Haran immediately saw potential and turned to my father, "He will become great Mordecai. You will see." My father, Mordecai, huffed in response, "Great? The only great thing he will be will be a disappointment!" Haran shook his head, "Damn you Mordecai. You always were quick to judge. What are you worried about anyway? That your own son will replace you as Shaman? You should be proud, more than proud of continuing your line." Mordecai sighed, for he knew that Haran had a point, he was judging me too quickly, I hadn't even opened my eyes yet and he already disowned me. The least he could've done was wait a year before any of that happened. But no, Mordecai was too short sighted and bigoted to see past my innocence, what the hell was he expecting? That I would come out barring my teeth trying to kill him? If so, he needs to relearn biology and lower his expectations, cause that was not happening any time soon.

Haran, the hyena who I consider my true father, took me in almost immediately. After the first few days, I was officially adopted into the chief's household and named heir to the clan. Of course, I had no knowledge of this, for the only thing I was concerned with was getting milk and sleeping, just like any other kid at that age. The thing about those first few years was that even when I was living with the chief, expectations were incredibly high. By the time I had gotten to be a month old, I was expected to be able to kill small game, something that I still fail at doing, mostly because my big head gets in the way of things.

When the day came for me to go on first my first hunt, I did it alone and with absolutely no practice. Which was the whole point of the first hunt-to get me to see what areas I fell short and improve on those until they became strengths. Simple idea. The problem was that I actually succeeded. I would be lying if I said that I did it on purpose, and I guess in a weird way I did, but 95% of it was pure luck.

My target was a bird, I can't remember exactly what kind of bird it was and I doubt that it would've mattered. While I was crouched in the grass, waiting for the right moment, I noticed that the bird was injured, so much so that with one swipe of my paw I could easily kill it. I stood up and walked over to it. The bird looked at me, it's eyes pleading both for me to spare it's life and to end it. Obviously, I choose the latter. Technically the kill didn't count because the bird was already near death and if there was one rule in the first hunt it was this: You can't kill an injured animal. But not wanting to bother stalking other prey, for I had been waiting for this bird for close to an hour, I decided to fake it and make it look like I had massacred the poor creature.

Sitting the bird down in front of Haran, I smiled; it was weak and begged for approval. Haran stared at me with surprise and then down at the bird, "You killed this?" he asked. I nodded and Haran continued, "You sure? Don't lie to me boy." I smiled and nodded reassuringly, "Of course I killed it" I answered, "What do you think I did?" Haran looked at the others, and his eyes fell on Mordecai, who walked over and whispered in Haran's ear, "The boy is obviously lying! Look at his claws; they're barely sharp enough to cause such injuries. Think about all the other firsts, their marks only returned with simple puncture wounds, it's impossible that he could-" Haran cut him off, for Mordecai was talking too much already, "Have faith brother" Haran answered, "Let us put him to The Test." Mordecai looked at me and then back to Haran, "The Test? Are you certain? He'll be-" Haran raised his paw, cutting Mordecai off once more, "I know what will happen! Do not tell me of the consequences of my own law."

Haran then turned towards me and patted my head, "Boy" he said, "This is a great deed. One that shall be remembered throughout the clan's history...I believe that you are ready." I was confused, for I had no idea as to what he was talking about, "What am I ready for?" I asked. Haran laughed, "The Test."

The Test is the right of passage for hyenas in any clan. It is also after this that the naming ceremony is held, the name you receive is based on your performance with The Test being different for every hyena. The principle however, still remains the same. Much like the first hunt, you have to kill something, but unlike the first hunt, that something is always extremely dangerous or has extremely dangerous factors involved, which is why a lot of hyenas remain nameless-cause they end up dead.

My test essentially was very simple in theory, kill a lion cub. Take in the fact that this required me to go to Pride Rock, which was surrounded by lionesses, the Alpha Lion and that I was still very much an innocent kid with not a lot of experience in death and the consequences it brings, this becomes much harder. We began as soon as night fell on the land; Haran led me and Mordecai to the base of Pride Rock and gave me instructions. "You are not allowed to kill anyone else but your mark. Especially the Royal Family, we may be hyenas but we are loyal to our King, remember that boy." I nodded in understanding and Mordecai picked up where Haran left off, "Do it as quickly as you can, for there is nothing worse than a slow death." I nodded once more and moved as stealthy as I could to the den, before I got out of earshot I heard Mordecai once more, "be careful son."

Walking in the den, besides the fact that it was almost pitch black, I noticed that it smelt like sweat and zebra. As soon as my eyes adjusted to the darkness I saw that several of the lions were blocking the pathway to the King, I assumed that these were the King's guards. I saw that the leader of the guard, a lion with a long golden mane, was directly in front of the King and right next to him was his son, who was almost identical to his father and my target. Stepping over and weaving through several bodies I finally reached my target. Unsheathing my small claws I moved in for the kill, when for some reason I looked to my right and saw the mother. She was lying on the lower level directly below the King, she was easily distinguishable from the others because she had a shorter golden mane that was exactly the same as the father. Looking at her reminded me of my own mother and how even though she hated me, I knew that she would be heartbroken if anything were to happen to me, heaven forbid if I should die. I stared at the father and instantly thought of both Haran and Mordecai, remembering Mordecai's parting words before I entered the cave. In his own way, Mordecai loved me; perhaps more than Haran, he just had a different way of showing his affections.

There was no way I could go through with it. I kept thinking about the father and how devastated he would be without his son, about how he would go through The Seventeen Days of Mourning and Fasting, alone and probably die of heartbreak before it was over. Just as I was about to turn around and leave, the father woke up, his sharp yellow eyes staring directly at me. "Well, well what do we have here?" he asked somewhat threateningly and at the same time being welcoming, "a little hyena trying to prove his worth? Tell me, what were you planning on doing exactly?" My paw was still raised above his kid, I was trapped and so had to think of a decent explanation that wouldn't involve getting myself killed. "Making a friend" I said confidently as I gently patted the sleeping lion cub's head. The father laughed, "You know there's plenty of time for that in the morning. It's almost high moon!" I looked up through a hole in the rock that served as a skylight and noticed that the moon was almost as her height, so roughly about 11:30pm. "Yeah" I answered, "but I figured hey, why not?" The lion laughed once more, this time heartedly, "You have spirit young cub! You will make a fine chief one day!" I smiled at his compliment, half surprised that he knew anything at all of hyena clan structure.

The lion noticed my confusion and patted my head lovingly as if I were his own son, "Here" the lion said as he pulled out an animal hide that was very similar to a lion's, "take this back to your chief. Tell him that you killed my son, he will believe you." I nodded in understanding, "Who are you?" I asked, wanting to get his name in case Mordecai or Haran pushed me for details. The lion smiled, guessing my intention, "I am Stenrig, High Guard of the King." he pointed to his son, "That is Luca" he pointed to his mate, "and that is Salanei."

I smiled and made my way towards the entrance, carrying the animal hide in my teeth. Before I could leave, Stenrig spoke again, "Boy" I turned around, letting him know that he had my attention, "you ever find yourself in need of a place to go. You come to me." I set down the hide, "You mean that?" I asked hopefully, grateful that I finally had a second outlet, "Of course I do" Stenrig continued, "you'll be just like my own son. You'll have a real brother" he pointed to Luca, "a loving mother," he glanced over at Salanei," and me." I was humbled by his offer and told him that I would keep that in mind, don't get me wrong, I loved Haran, Mordecai and the clan with all my heart, but it was nice to know that I had a place to go when I needed it.

As soon as I left, Stenrig smiled to himself, "He's brave going on taking a Test like this" he thought to himself, "normally it would be suicide, a banzai mission."

As soon as I got back with the hide, Mordecai immediately became suspicious, "You skinned it!" he exclaimed in disbelief, "How in the world did you skin it?" I shrugged, "It was easy" I lied. "But we haven't taught you that!" Haran said, cutting off Mordecai. To this I easily covered, "I'm a fast learner. I've seen the others do it, so I figured why not?" Haran looked at Mordecai and they both examined the hide for any kind of defects, they found none for the skin was done perfectly. "Whose cub is this?" Haran asked seriously, demanding an answer. "Stenrig's" I answered, "The Captain of the Guard?" Mordecai asked continuing his disbelief, to which Haran nodded, recognizing the name, "The very same. Killed twenty of our best hunters this year alone, he's easily the most dangerous of the lot, even more so than the King." Haran turned back to me, "You have done a mighty deed boy. It was dangerous and might have cost you your life, but you have done well." Mordecai nodded in agreement, "Indeed" he said, "we honestly didn't expect you to come back. Glad you did of course." After that we headed back to the clan.

The naming ceremony was short and simple; I lined up alongside the other hyenas and immediately realized that I was the youngest among them, for most of them were at least two years older than I was. The whole time I had a smug smile on my face, for I knew that I was the odd man out in this scenario. When it came time for me to step up in front of the large crowd that had assembled, Mordecai dipped his paw in the traditional blue paint and drew two long vertical streaks down my face, "In honor of your dangerous and heroic deed" he began, "I name you Banzai. " Mordecai then bowed low to the ground, which caused everyone else, including Haran, to follow suit. Mordecai then finished his speech, "It is my privilege and honor to pronounce you, Banzai, officially, as next in line to the title of Chief. May the spirits forever guide your path to glory!"


	2. Survival 101

**(Try your best with these, cause I have no idea how to pronounce them. Don't worry they're not important enough characters for you to remember them)**

**Machafuko-Swahili for Chaos**

**Jaji-Swahili for Judge**

**Mfalme- Swahili for King**

Chapter Two

Survival 101

Almost two years had passed. I had grown a significant amount since The Test, although I hadn't filled out completely, I was on the fast track to being half grown, which at this point was almost unheard of. I spent most days with Haran, who taught me the basic duties of chief, while Mordecai, who was starting to warm up to me, taught me how to hunt. I had Haran to myself, for he only took on one pupil at a time, usually they were his sons or an appointed leader, but Mordecai on the other hand had an entire class.

It was in this class that I met Ed and Shenzi. Mordecai took all of us, 25 kids in all, to the nearby field on the very edge of the Pride Lands, just where the Borderlands ended and the Plains began. "Alright listen up" Mordecai began, "today we're going to start with the basics. Stand shoulder to shoulder." We followed his directions almost as quickly as he gave them, for any kind of delay was met with swift punishment, "Very good" he replied. Ed was drooling nosily next to me, ever since a stray log hit his head; he's always had a screw loose. "Ed!" Mordecai exclaimed, "Stop that infernal drooling! You're giving me a headache." I nudged Ed to tried and get him to stop; he looked at me, smiled and continued drooling. Mordecai stared at me, "Banzai, come here." I stepped forward and stood at attention, like I was supposed to and waited for Mordecai to give me directions. "Keep an eye on Ed for me. Don't let him out of your sight!" I nodded in understanding and took my place back in the line.

Mordecai then began his demonstration, kneeling down in the grass, he began to go through every moment, calling out names like any good instructor would, to tell him what it was he should do next. "Machafuko" Mordecai called as he got into a standard crouching position, "I'm stalking a lion, what do I do?" Machafuko stepped forward; he was one of the older ones who stood in at my naming ceremony and one of the biggest douche bags I've ever come across besides Timon. "You pounce" Machafuko answered confidently. Mordecai shook his head, "No. If I were to pounce the lion I would be dead, for the lion would easily break my neck with a single swipe." Mordecai then addressed the entire class, "What did I say last week?" The entire class sighed and recited in monotone, "The lions are the hyena's natural enemy. The hyena must use the element of surprise to his advantage and the group in order to kill the prey." Mordecai nodded, satisfied with the answer, "That's right" he replied, "so what do I do, hurry before he gets away!"

Mordecai always was good with using his imagination and always incorporated it in his lessons to the tenth and twentieth degrees. Jaji, a female and easily the best in the group, answered, "You crawl forward, and patiently wait for the lion to make a wrong move." I shook my head, "Its not possible" I said, contradicting her, "if you wait for too long the lion will get away and you would've missed your chance. If you pounce you're dead. You simply hide in the grass and slowly make your way around the lion to easier game." Mordecai stood up and looked at me, "And why is that Banzai?" he asked, for apparently I had given the correct strategy, "Because hunting something like a lion takes a group. You have to move with the group as a single unit, that way you are ensured a kill every time." Mordecai smiled, "Correct" he said enthusiastically, causing me to get stares from both Jaji and Machafuko.

After the lesson we all headed back to the clan. Ed walked beside me, leaning causally as if I were his long lost brother or something; his drool was getting in my fur. "Do you mind?" I asked, trying to brush him off. Ed only nudged me lovingly and continued forward. I rolled my eyes, watching Ed was going to be like parenthood and in a big way it was, for Ed was too simple minded to do much of anything on his own for he was still on milk from his mother even though he and I were roughly about the same age. The weaning process for Ed would be difficult, even more so since he hadn't spoken a word to anyone, not even his own father, who he was supposed to tell everything to.

Shenzi came up behind me, I turned around and was surprised for we hadn't had much of a reason to speak before and yet here she was, starting a conversation. "You shouldn't butt in like that" she warned, "especially when it's the Gruesome Twosome." I rolled my eyes, "Oh please, Jaji and Machafuko don't scare me, and besides what could they do anyway?" Shenzi laughed, "What could they do? How about ripping your throat out, did that ever cross your mind?" I huffed, she was being a bit overdramatic in my opinion, "Don't you think that's a little extreme. So who cares if I know a little bit more about stalking and hunting than they do? It's all for the good of the clan." Shenzi nodded in agreement, "Yes but it's more than that. You're next in line for chief. That carries a lot of notoriety and jealousy around here."

We entered the common area of the clan, and I being the gentlemen walked her to her cave, which was small and barely adequate for her and her large family, a mother, a father and a sister, who was a year younger than she was. "Will you stop you're worrying?" I said, "I'll be fine." Shenzi smiled friendly, "Just be careful Banzai. I don't want to see you get hurt or anything." I stopped and wondered what it was that she meant, it was the first time that I began to develop any kind of strong feelings for anyone besides my two fathers, a gut feeling came on in my stomach, but I ignored it. Before I could respond, Shenzi had disappeared into her cave and I walked into mine, extremely confused and mind cloudier than a dense fog.

During the night I came to one simple conclusion, that gut feeling that I had in my stomach, it was love. Not the love that made me think of having sex with her, come on I was a kid, but the kind of love that comes with the appreciation of knowing that there's at least someone your age who acknowledges your existence, so this kind of love extended to Ed too. I knew that I had made two friends that day and I knew that if anything we would be friends for life, I just never realized how much that friendship would mean, or how much shit it would get me into.


	3. The Last Hunt

Chapter Three

The Last Hunt

The day came when the class had finally gotten its chance to do some real hunting. Mordecai spilt us into groups of three and gave us our marks. I was with Ed and Shenzi, who at this point, were the weakest in the entire class. Our mark was a lion. Now normally such a hunt wouldn't be a big deal, for we had been on plenty of other hunts with Mordecai and Rolfe, my older brother who had finally been allowed to return after his seven year exile for lying and abandonment. But this hunt was different for two very important reasons, one-we were being evaluated to see our usefulness in the clan, if we failed we were promptly exiled and two-this hunt ensured mating rights.

As you can imagine we were all extremely nervous and surprisingly none of us were worried about exile, which was the more serious of the two incentives, for we all knew that we would succeed, for we had been taught by Mordecai, who was easily the best hunter in the group. No, we were all worried about the second thing, mostly because the mating rights showed your status in the clan, so those at the bottom of the pack, were considered inferior and often treated as such. More often than not, the hyena that gets first dibs is next in line for chief, but that rule was quickly thrown out in this hunt, for I had already been named the heir, the reminder of this detail did not go over well with Jaji or Machafuko, who had hated me since the beginning.

Mordecai had us all line up at the field on the border of the Pride Lands. Haran was standing next to him, "This hunt" Haran began, "is the most important hunt in your entire lives. Failure is not an option. If you fail, you will be exiled for one year." Haran stared gravely at all of us, "now I know that none of us want anything to happen. So it is my duty to inform you as chief that such exile will not be severe, either myself or Mordecai will bring you food. We shall still teach you the ways of survival, but afterwards you will be on your own. You will never be able to return." At this all of faces began grim, hung low and full of sadness, we were all thinking the same thing, what would happen to our families if we were gone? At this the chief gave a simple and harsh answer, "Your family will disown you. Forget you ever existed, for come next winter they will have kids exactly...like...you." He said the last three words slowly to drive it into our heads, even though he had already made the message clear enough as far as I was concerned.

Shenzi decided to lead the way, I guess because she wanted to feel important, for females usually aren't considered the best when it came to hunting and thus wanted to prove everyone else wrong. We ran through the field and searched for our mark, having no success near Pride Rock, the most obvious place; we ventured further into the Pride Lands and came upon the Tree of Life. As soon as we reached it I was immediately struck with curiosity, for one thing, the tree was massive about half of the size of Pride Rock, which you could see for miles on end. Another thing about the tree was that it was home to Rafiki the mandrill, the Shaman and in my opinion, the crazy lunatic. Shenzi and Ed continued forward, ignoring the Tree and began searching for the kill. I remained behind, curiosity taking over reason and purpose.

"Hello?" I asked up the Tree, hoping to get an answer "is anybody there?" Silence. A ruffling noise could be heard in the distance but I ignored this and continued trying to get Rafiki's attention, "Hey Rafiki, come down here, I wanna talk to yah!" At this Rafiki came down, hanging off a high branch holding his staff, which he proceeded to hit me on the head with, causing me to snap, "Hey what was that for?" I asked. Rafiki remained silent and climbed down the rest of the way down to Tree to meet me. The mandrill looked me over, obviously examining me, making a large circle around me, checking my teeth, my claws, my fur and my eyeballs for any kind of defects. Finding me reasonably normal I supposed, Rafiki faced me, leaned in close and asked the million dollar question, "Why are you here boy?" At this I didn't have an answer, Rafiki hit me on the head again with his staff, "I said 'Why are you here?'" he repeated, this time slower to make sure I understood what it was he was asking me.

I shrugged; honestly I didn't have a good reason other than curiosity. When I gave that as my answer, Rafiki just laughed, "If you do not have a reason for something than why do it at all?" I rolled my eyes annoyingly, for now he was being cryptic on purpose, something that I got enough of with Haran, I didn't need any more life lessons-especially from Rafiki, who I knew had a reputation as being The Chooser Of The One, you know, the guy who picks the King or guides the hero on a ridiculous quest that they didn't really need to go on in order to find themselves type of bullshit that Rafiki was now trying to pull on me with his cryptic question and eager leaning on his staff. It wasn't going to work, at least not in the way that he intended.

"Because sometimes Rafiki" I answered, "we have to do things just to do them. It's called experiencing life, acting on impulses, nature's natural call of adventure and mystery. Of course you can't always follow these instincts, for that would be insane and could only lead to trouble, but sometimes it's nice to just go with the wind." Rafiki stopped, for he didn't expect me to give that answer, or any answer. He just smiled, nodded and laughed, then for some reason bowed, "My King." I was confused as to why he was addressing me that way, until I realized the large ominous shadow looming over me.

Turning around I was face to face with none other than the King of the Pride Lands, although you probably know him as Mufasa. "Rafiki" Mufasa said softly, "who is this?" Rafiki lifted his head, smiled and looked into my eyes, apparently trying to read my mind, searching for information. "This is Banzai Your Grace, future Chief of the Hyenas." Mufasa glared at me, his eyes cold and unforgiving, "What are you doing here boy?" he asked, his voice although clam, still had that threatening tone, causing me to shrivel into myself.

Mufasa huffed, "This is the future Chief of the Hyenas?" he said turning to Rafiki, who only nodded as he answer, "It's a shame" Mufasa continued, "I was just about to let Haran and his lot in. Looks like that won't be happening." At this I stood upright and dared to get directly in Mufasa's, offended by the remark. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" I asked, Mufasa's eyes were practically out of his sockets, "Do you know who I am boy?" the lion answered trying to be threatening. I nodded, "Yeah, I know who you are. King Mufasa, right? Well let me tell you something King, Haran is a great Chief, a great leader and a loyal subject. Don't let my clan suffer on my account simply because I won't do a good job. Ever since my naming ceremony, people have been telling me that I can't be Chief, that I'm the disgrace of the clan and will bring it to ruin. So why should I have to listen to you tell me what I already know? I know who I am. I'm the guy who going to screw everything up simply by showing up, I'm the guy who's never going to be able to prove himself because he's afraid of his own shadow and his suffers night terrors at night. I don't need you or anyone else to tell me who I am; I've known that for years."

Mufasa nodded his head, saying nothing, only taking my words in and running them through his head. He turned around, "Stenrig" he cried, "get over here." Stenrig appeared from the tall grass, directly next to me, he had apparently been watching me the entire time. "Yes My King?" Stenrig asked, as he bowed his head low to the ground. Mufasa stared at me and then back at Stenrig, "Come with me and bring this boy. There's something that he needs to see." Stenrig immediately looked at me, for a second I thought that he didn't recognize me but then he winked at me knowingly, "Come on young cub" he said, "this way." Stenrig then led me to Pride Rock, I had completely lost sight of Ed and Shenzi who at that point were long gone from Pride Rock, still on the hunt and ironically, in the lead.

Mufasa and Stenrig lead me to the den, I was immediately surrounded by lionesses, all of whom were licking their lips in anticipation and couldn't wait to rip me apart. Mufasa got on top of his perch and lay down next to his mate, Sarabi and said nothing. Stenrig looked down at me, his yellow eyes glowing in the darkness of the cave, at first they were intimidating, but as my eyes adjusted to the darkness I saw the rest of his face, it was warm and fatherly. Mufasa noticed this and spoke up, "I understand that your son Luca was killed Stenrig." Stenrig hung his head low, and nodded solemnly, at first I thought that he had forgotten the night I had met him and believed his lie that we came up with, but then I saw a single tear, which Stenrig dared to let it fall to the ground, it did not. "Yes Your Majesty" Stenrig answered gravely, I could tell that his heart was heavy with grief, "his loss put a great deal of stress upon me and my wife, Salanei. So much so that Salanei can no longer have cubs-" Mufasa cut him off, "Are you...happy with her? Satisfied with her?" Stenrig smiled, working through Mufasa's word play, "Of course Your Highness. We could never be happier, especially in that regard. We've been trying to find ways around the defect, using different herbs and spices, but we've had no such luck, only the sweet ignorance that comes with such bliss."

Mufasa stared at me, I felt like his eyes were burning into my soul, he was searching me, I could tell. "Stenrig" Mufasa exclaimed, his eyes never breaking from mine, "will you watch over him..." At that moment a hunting party appeared, their faces and claws covered in blood, causing everyone in the den to look their way, "Sire" the lead one began, "we found a clan- a group of hyenas, sir, good meat, yes?" Mufasa nodded, "Yes, very good meat. How many did you kill?" The lead one gave a smile; it was devious, "Most of them. We left a few alive to spread the word, but the others are dead." Mufasa nodded once again and walked over to Stenrig, leaning in he began to whisper, "He's your responsibility now...his clan is dead." Stenrig looked down at me, his eyes full of surprise and uncertainty, but I didn't know why, for I didn't hear the first part and so assumed that they were talking about a group of jackals of antelope or something.

Stenrig sighed and leaned in towards me, "Come on, this way young cub. There's someone I want you to meet." He walked me over to Salanei, I smiled in greeting and she in turn brought me in close, "its okay child" she whispered, assuming that I had known what was happening, but Stenrig slowly nodded his head, telling her otherwise. Salanei got the hint and quickly changed tactics, but it didn't make any difference, for this part I had heard and suddenly my gut feeling had returned and I knew. I knew that my clan, that Haran and Mordecai, the only family I ever really had, was dead. I then began to cry, for I didn't cry for me, I cried for Shenzi and Ed, who were still on the hunt, I cried in fear of the horrors that they would face when they returned to find everyone that they ever knew dead and drowning in their own blood. I cried knowing that now they were alone, with no one to take care of them and the fact that they would most likely die in the wilderness. I could only hope that somehow they would survive, that I would see them again, although the chances of that were dwindling with each passing hour, and become transparent with the coming of the morning.


	4. The Family You Choose

**Bantoid(s)-Branch of language and culture in the Niger Congo region of Africa based on the clan/chiefdom system. **

Chapter Four

The Family You Choose

Stenrig took me in and treated me as if I were his own. Since I already knew hunting and gathering, he taught me the basic life lessons. And before you say anything, no, Stenrig did not give the "Everything the Light Touches Will Be Yours" speech, no he gave something much more meaningful than that. He gave the "The Pride" speech.

Stenrig led me to the watering hole where we cooled ourselves off along with the hippos and rough housed among the tall grass like any father and son would do, then after we had calmed down we had the conversation that changed my life. "I'm going to tell you something Banzai" Stenrig began, "its important so listen close..." I leaned in, showing that he had my attention and he continued," The Pride. What does that mean to you?" I didn't really have an answer, for I assumed that it was very similar to a clan and had an obvious explanation, "The Pride" Stenrig continued, "is your family. You protect them; you nurture them with all that you have." I shook my head, "But I'm not a lion Stenrig. I'm a hyena. I don't belong here-" Stenrig cut me off, gently brushing my fur with his large paw, "It makes no difference wither you are a hyena or a lion. You are part of The Pride now." Although what he said was technically true, I knew that I would never truly belong there, "But what about the others?" I asked, referring to the lion cubs, who had hated me from the get go, "They think I'm a freak of nature or something." Stenrig smiled warmly, "Just because you're different, does not make you a freak Banzai."

I laughed, "Come on Stenrig. I howl at the moon like a coyote, I laugh at the slightest assuming thing and I have random outbursts of rage that can't really be explained. Face it" I looked down at the water, "I'm a freak." Stenrig drew me in close, hugging me; "Even so" he said as tears streamed down his face, "You are my son." I shook my head, "My fathers are dead" I answered. Stenrig looked down at me, his face full of hurt and sadness, "Banzai" he whispered, "you may not be my son by birth, but understand that the minute I saw you I fell in love with you. I would gladly lay down my life if it meant keeping you safe, because to me, you are my son and I don't care what the others say. I love you and that's all that matters."

It was then that I figured out a very important thing. Family is the people who you choose to be with, biological or not. It doesn't matter if you come from the same parents, have similar backgrounds or whatever, if you love that person enough they become your family. Which is why I can proudly say that I have three fathers: Mordecai, Haran and Stenrig, and I wouldn't trade any of them if you gave me all the Pride Lands.

Stenrig finally pulled away, I smiled and gently shoved him, "Come on Dad" I said, "let's go home." Stenrig held back tears as best he could but he let them flow anyway, he didn't care if anyone saw him, for he had just been called Dad, and that alone, meant the world to him. Stenrig nodded and lifted me up on his head, "Alright" he answered as he broke out into a run, "let's go say hi to Mom huh?"

Salanei was basking in the evening sun outside the den when we returned. Looking at us, she had the biggest smile on her face, "Well you two look rather chipper" she answered, "Did I miss something?" Stenrig caressed her cheek, the animal version of a kiss and smiled, "Just a little father-son bonding is all." Salanei looked me, "Well how about some mother-son bonding hmm?" I rolled my eyes, I knew exactly what that meant- it was time for a bath. But I was too happy to complain, in fact I actually enjoy being clean, it makes me feel more important than I already am. Stenrig respectively looked away as Salanei began cleaning my privates, for even he was aware of the awkwardness of the situation I was in, but to be honest I didn't really care. Once Salanei was done, I shook myself off, for now I was covered in spit, "Thanks Mom" I answered as if I had known her all my life. Salanei smiled warmly, "You're welcome" she answered.

I walked back over to Stenrig, who told me to go prepare for dinner, while I was doing that, Salanei walked over to Stenrig and spoke in a hushed whisper, "You know what's going to happen don't you?" Stenrig nodded solemnly, "Yes" he answered," he'll integrate into our society." Salanei sighed, "No. That's what you want to happen. That's what I want to happen. But we both know that eventually Banzai will be driven out. All hyenas that come here are." Stenrig shook his head, "That won't happen again, not this time Salanei. Banzai is my son and as long as he is under my protection, he is safe." Salanei nodded in agreement, "I hope you're right dear. I hope you're right."

The dinner table was in the back of the den. Stenrig and Salanei took their respective places at the head of the table, next to the Mufasa and Sarabi. Everyone was at their places and was waiting respectively for me to come at the table. Noticing that the other lion cubs were at the far end of the table, I made my way over, but they immediately found a creative way to exclude me from joining them by putting of all things a zebra carcass. To be spiteful, I tried to get on top of the carcass, but I slid off it due to the grease they had somehow doused it with. So I did the only thing I could, I grabbed the hide and sank my teeth into, eating just enough of it to make a proper hole, then reaching my paw through the hole, I lifted up and carried the whole thing to the corner of the room. Pulling out my forearm, which was covered in zebra guts, I washed it off to the best of my ability and took my place at the table.

All of them, including the adults were staring at me; I did after all lift a full grown zebra carcass by myself and into the corner of the room, almost twenty feet away from the large table. "What?" I asked, "You're telling me that you've never seen that?" All of them shook their heads no, "Really?" I continued, "Well in the clan we used to do that kind of stuff all the time." I was partially lying, for we only did it like twice a week. One of the lion cubs huffed, "Why don't you just get out of here freak?" I glared at him, "Excuse me, what did you say?" The lion cub got smug with me, "I said, 'Why don't you just get out of here?'" I shook my head in disagreement, "Nope, can't do that." The lion cub laughed, "Do you know who I am? I'm Mufasa's nephew. I'm the most royal person in here beside Her Majesties. So anything I say is just as good as Mufasa's around here." I rolled my eyes, he was one of _those _people, "And do you know who I am." The lion cub shook his head sarcastically, expecting me to simply give my name and nothing more; I pulled the only card I could play, "I am Banzai. Chief of the Bantoids."

At this the lion who was part of the hunting party hung his head in shame; he turned towards me and spoke in an apologetic tone. "You are of that tribe?" he asked, hoping that I would answer differently. I faced him and nodded proudly, "Yes" I answered, "I don't blame anyone but myself for not dying with them." The lion walked over to me and extended his paw in greeting which I took, "Zaria" he answered. I gave him the same satisfaction and he asked the million dollar question, "Who is taking care of you?" Stenrig stood up and answered for me, "I am brother." Zaria turned towards Stenrig, "Thank you for giving me a nephew with a brain." Zaria faced me once again, "I am your uncle then." I never had an uncle before, so I assumed that it was just another extension of the word father, so I treated him like I did Mordecai, with unwavering obedience and upmost respect.

The dinner continued without any more interruptions. But that doesn't mean that I didn't suffer, for throughout the whole meal I received death glares from cubs and adults alike, even Mufasa kept an accusing and watchful eye. These were met with quick, defending and equally sharp glares from Stenrig, Zaria and Salanei, even towards Mufasa. "My King please" Zaria whispered, "it's bad enough that he's an orphan. Don't make it harder on him by being a, pardon my language, a condescending asshole." Mufasa rolled his eyes, obviously annoyed, "That thing" he began, "should not even be here. He's a disgrace!" Stenrig joined in, his whisper a little louder than it needed to be, "You hypocrite! If Banzai is a disgrace then why did you allow him to stay here? Why not just throw him out on in the wild now?" Mufasa growled harshly, "I am your King Stenrig." Stenrig nodded, "Apologizes, but are you serious!" Mufasa nodded in agreement, "I am serious. The only reason I let him stay was out of pity, nothing more. When he comes of age he will leave us and never return." Stenrig huffed, "Over my dead body he will. Banzai is part of The Pride now like it or not sire. He is my son and as such can stay here as long as he pleases." Mufasa stood up and leaned in threateningly, "Banzai is not your son! He is your charge. You have forgotten your place Stenrig, now I suggest that you take your wife and that abomination and leave. You are not welcome here."

Sarabi stared at Mufasa, "Come now really Mufasa, don't you think that's being harsh? After all, Banzai is nothing more than a cub. What harm could he possibly be?" Mufasa turned sharply towards her, "Harm! He'll do more than that I assure you." he leaned closer and hushed his voice to a whisper to prevent the cubs from hearing him, "The gene pool will be destroyed. We cannot allow that...that thing to-" Stenrig cut him off, for he had had enough, "So that's what this is about? You're worried about Banzai potentially creating a new species, that's ridiculous." Mufasa snapped at Stenrig, causing him and the others around him to gasp in surprise, "You don't get it do you? By the time Banzai comes to mating age, a few years at best, he will have already disrupted the system. We cannot have a degenerate corrupting the lines. We'll be the laughing stock of Africa!"

Stenrig stood up and motioned for Salanei to follow. Walking over to me, Stenrig picked up by the nape of my neck and set me down on my feet. "Come" Stenrig replied softly, "we're leaving." I looked around and saw the accusing faces; I knew that whatever it was that had happened, happened because of me. I stared at Mufasa, then Zaria, who only hung his head in sadness. I nodded my head to no one in particular and followed Stenrig out of the den. Before I could leave, Zaria stood up from the table, "Sire" he exclaimed, "I cannot and will not stand for this!" Zaria walked over to me, and placed his paw on my head, "If Banzai is a degenerate, then so too am I." I looked up at him and he at me, his dark hazel eyes told me that like Stenrig, Zaria had taken it upon himself to protect me. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" Mufasa asked, standing up from the table in defense, "I am" Zaria answered. "Abandonment is punishable by death." Mufasa began threateningly, "if you leave, you will be hunted down, all of you." Zaria laughed, "Then I guess we're the new sport for you Mufasa. Enjoy your Kingdom, may it burn in Hell." Then without another word, we left the den.

Stenrig, Salanei, Zaria and I walked for miles, never able to return to Pride Rock. Exiled in our home with no place to go, but we didn't care, at least not enough to start complaining, for we had each other, and so we made our way to the edge of the Pride Lands and out into the Wilderness.


	5. Meerkat for Dinner

Chapter Five

Meerkat for Dinner

Six years later

The night air was warm. The spirits told me that tonight was a good night for a hunt. I sniffed and inhaled the scents of my surroundings; I could smell three things, a dung beetle on the ground, which I ignored, the smell of jasmine plants and a meerkat den. Sulking low to the ground, I made my way over to the small den, where upon placing my ear to the ground, I heard a very heated conversation.

"Are you insane?" a voice said, obviously female, "what if you get killed? What if-what if-" The other voice, a younger male, cut her off, "Ma will you relax? It's not like a hyena is waiting right outside the door." Think again buddy, cause here I am. "Besides, I'm sick and tired of this place; I want to see the world." Ma sighed and moved closer to the male, "I just don't want to see you get hurt Timon. You're all I got." Timon huffed, "Oh please! I'm all you got, really Ma. Really? There are seven perfectly good males knocking down your door and I'm all you got? Your one and only son, is all you got? Why don't you start taking calls lady and get yourself laid." A loud slap came from Ma, I could hear her hand contacting with Timon's face as clear as day, "Now you listen here, young man" she began, "I will not be insulted." Timon rolled his eyes annoyingly and sighed, "Yeah cause Dad would _never_ want you to be happy. What were his dying words again? I believe it was something along the lines of 'I don't care if you find someone else. I want you to be...HAPPY!" Timon, even though he had a good point, was obviously losing the battle; eventually he made his way towards the entrance of the den.

I decided to not bother hiding and simply catch him by surprise. As soon as Timon's head appeared, I placed my paw over his mouth, silencing him and slowly dragged him away from the den and into the high grass. "Don't scream" I whispered, "if you do I'll snap your neck and send you to the gods." Timon nodded in understanding and I removed my paw from his mouth. "Please don't kill me" Timon pleaded as he cowered to the ground, "I have a wife and three beautiful kids!" Oh he was good. I laughed at his terrible lie. "Come on" I answered, "Surely you can come up with something better than that." Timon stood up and began to think, placing his paw on his mouth in deep thought, "Let me see...I have rabies" I shook my head no, "Try again" I pressed. Timon continued his thought process, "I'm all bones and no meat?" I smiled and shook my head again, "Come on man, dig deep."

Timon thought about it harder, so hard that it almost made me eat him, but even I had my principles, then Timon had an epiphany. "Please don't kill me!" he started again, "I have to save my family, my mother and my younger sister, they're very sick, if I don't find them something, they're going to die. And-and-" Timon was actually crying, I couldn't tell if he was lying or telling the truth, for now they seemed to blend together. I raised my paw, causing him to stop, "That was good. Very good" Timon straightened himself out, "Really? You think so huh?" I nodded in agreement, "Of course I do, because unlike you, I'm not a compulsive liar."

Timon slowly backed away towards the den, "Well" he said nervously as I moved closer, "nice meeting yah." As soon as I lunged for him, he disappeared into his den. I sighed; "Damn" I thought to myself, "That was going to be his dinner."

I slowly made my way back home to the small cave that we had settled in. I had been living with Stenrig and Salanei ever since Mufasa kicked us out. The meerkat was for Jolly, Stenrig's son and my half brother. Hunting was becoming more difficult, especially since technically, we weren't even in the Pride Lands anymore. Zaria sat in the corner of the cave, saying nothing. "How'd the hunt go?" Stenrig asked, trying to be as optimistic as possible. I sighed, "Empty...again. This keeps up; we're going to have to leave the Congo all together. Might settle down the Kalahari, lots of game there and best of all no Mufasa." Stenrig nodded, "Maybe you're right Banzai. If pickings are this slim we won't have a choice. Go out once more just to be sure, and then if you find nothing within ten minutes come back here. We'll leave in the morning."

The air was warm up against my fur as I headed out once again into the Wilderness. The silence of the night was deafening, as if any moment if something were to shout it would scare the shit out of you. I heard a faint rustling in a lone bush a few feet from my left. I tried to catch a scent, to give me an idea of what it was, but came up with nothing, for the wind was working against me. I slowly crept forward and peered into the bush, lying down on the ground, apparently waiting for me, was Ed.

"Ed" I exclaimed, "You're alive?" Ed laughed and shook his head, "Of course I'm alive buddy" he responded, "Why do you ask?"I was at first surprised that Ed was speaking normally, which means that his time in the Wilderness had either cured him or he had simply learned basic English. I shrugged and looked around aimlessly, trying to avoid the subject. "What are you doing here?" I asked, changing the topic, "Looking for you" Ed said as he scratched his ear with his hind leg," Mordecai and the other have been-" I stopped and cut him off, "Wait, Mordecai's alive?" Ed nodded, "Yeah" he answered slowly, giving me a confused look, "Shenzi's here too. We've been looking for you ages man!" I looked around, making sure that no one was around, for I heard a rustle in the nearby grass, and feared that it was Zaria or even worse, Stenrig. If they saw me with Ed, they would assume that I had been conspiring with him.

Ed gently tugged on my fur, urging me to follow him, I remained where I was. "What are you doing?" Ed asked, "We've got to go. The others have been waiting for yah." I sighed, and uncomfortably began to tell him about Stenrig. "So you see" I concluded, "I can't just leave. They're my family now." Ed only gave me a blank stare as a response, "Yeah but, what about the clan? What about your responsibilities?" I rolled my eyes; I didn't need Ed to tell me what my responsibilities were. Ed repeated his question, after which I simply exploded, "I know Ed! I know that I have a duty to the clan. But how do you expect me to follow through with that?" Ed's only expression was the same blank stare as before, I continued, "Everyone has always told me that I was going to fail. That I was going to kill everything that Haran worked for, that I was the death kneel. So why bother, if all that's going to happen is ridicule and hypocritical feelings?"

I waited for his response, which was no response. I shook my head and turned away back towards the cave, but before I could even make two steps, Ed was on top of me; with a swift swipe of his paw he had knocked me unconscious. Ed then effortlessly dragged my body away, heading into the Jungle and the rest of the clan.


End file.
